As globalization increases exponentially, especially over the past few decades, the outcomes of cultural immersion are becoming even more vital to understanding how personal identities form. Individuals bring characteristics of their backgrounds into the societies they live in and, in turn, they become the products of their environment. As the seams of different cultures start to unravel into each other in this global melting pot, one can see the fashionable benefits of what it means to live in a world quilted with Western and Eastern influences.

Shazia Jamal, born in Chennai, India and raised in Texas from age 6, remembers a time when the kids she grew up with taunted her with discriminating insults, like ‘you smell like curry.’ Assuming it was something that just came with “brown culture,” Jamal said little and laid low. Members of minority groups definitely have a set of challenges they must overcome, but Jamal never let the bullying get in the way of her fashion aspirations.

Instead, she used her bicultural identity to start her own fashion label that creates one collective wardrobe, expressing not only her carefree, independent American views but also “the bold, vibrant colors [and] heavy-glamour outfits” of her Indian roots.

Jamal’s interest in fashion sparked at a young age because her mom was an Indian fashion designer. She learned not only how to style her outfits with accessories, but also how to carry herself in whatever she wears. She found that she likes to be unique in her fashion choices, and her label is nothing short of that concept. Jamal’s line incorporates traditional aspects of American fashion, like jeans and the concept of crop tops, as well as traditional Indian elements, like bandini and embroidery. She also blends modern trends that are seen in both cultures like cold shoulder, off the shoulder or one shoulder crop tops and dhoti pants (equivalent to harem pants) with the traditional wardrobe.

However, in starting her own line, she has faced obstacles. She said that it is difficult to find some materials that are based in one market but not the other, such as leather, denim and bandini. Jamal reaches out to clients ranging from young adults to middle-aged women, and she hopes to see her designs on the red carpet one day. She reaches her audience mostly through her Instagram (@shazia_k_jamal) and through pop-up sales in various cities in the southern regions.

Smrithi Ram of Seena Bazaar is another fusion fashion icon on the rise. She was born in Los Angeles but now lives in Cincinnati, Ohio. Growing up, she remembers having trouble finding a balance in her identity during her teenage years.

“I was pretty ashamed of my culture because of how much bullying I faced,” said Ram.

As a result, she found herself assimilating more and more into Western culture and, according to Ram, it started to influence not only “what [she] ate...and who [she] hung out with,” but also “what [she] wore.” However, she now realizes that her experiences had a profound impact on who she is today, for she began to fall “in love with [her] culture and all the aspects that come with it.”

One of the most important aspects that flourished from the cultivation of Ram’s relationship with her background is how she expresses her bicultural identity through fashion. She describes her style as comfortable street style. She likes to feel at-ease in what she wears, so her go-to look is usually sneakers paired with a bomber jacket and a sweatshirt. She also incorporates her South Indian identity into her everyday fashion through tops and bindis.

“I also love stealing my mom’s saree blouses and pairing them with a pair of ripped jeans or a mini skirt,” Ram said.

Ram and her best friend, Sree, also have an Instagram profile, The S Movement (@thesmovement), and an online clothing store, Seena Bazaar (seenabazaar.com), that highlight South Indian fashion as opposed to the many platforms that focus mainly on North Indian designs. They currently focus on culturally-fused jackets; their website sells traditional South Indian saree fabrics stitched onto denim jackets.

Shachi Risbud of Canton, Massachusetts is a lifestyle, fashion, makeup and dance Instagrammer (@shalteshares) and YouTuber. Growing up, she was not interested in fashion whatsoever. It was not until her junior year of college that she learned how great it felt when she, with the help of her roommate, put together an outfit that was cohesive and confidence-boosting. Since then, she has been aspiring to make her fashion unique.

Even though Risbud was always mesmerized by her mom’s sense of Indian style, she had trouble expressing her Indian culture. She explains that she felt her background was appreciated from far away or as an entity on its own, but that she felt discouraged from integrating it into her everyday life. She comments that even though people always appreciate the beauty of saree prints and fabrics, when women wear sarees to the mall in America, people find it very strange. She hated that these situations made her feel as though there was a part of her life she had to hide.

Her style today incorporates the two worlds that she belongs to. “I fuse Indian and Western styles together to create a kind of art that brings traditional Indian styles...into new age fashion trends, like sleek and trendy,” said Risbud. She integrates traditional Indian elements like bindis, dupattas, embroidery and heavy jewelry with American details like flare jeans and thigh high boots.

“Gotta have heels. It just makes your body and posture look so much better,” said Risbud.

This is not to say that Risbud is not still working on how to balance both of her cultures. She wants to make sure that she never offends anyone with the outfits she puts together. “I need to find the limit to how much of one culture I can transform using another,” Risbud said.

For inspiration on new outfit and makeup ideas she follows Instagram icons @hemalpatel and @thesandylion.

By growing up in an American community with an Indian background, these three women have not only overcome obstacles that have tested their identities but they have also become phenomenal contributors to a movement that celebrates bicultural fashion. After countless experiences of having to pick which identity they’d like to represent on which day, Shazia, Smrithi, Shachi and others have used fashion as a medium to establish a simultaneous expression of the multiple traditions that make them who they are.

by Falaknaz Chranya photo by Noor Nasser design by Jami Rubin